Jayson Tatum’s postseason is over.
And now the lengthy highway to restoration begins.
The Boston Celtics celebrity underwent a profitable surgical procedure to restore a ruptured proper Achilles tendon suffered in Monday evening’s Sport 4 loss to the Knicks, the group introduced.
The group offered no timetable, however he’s anticipated to make a full restoration.
Tatum suffered the non-contact harm as he went for a unfastened ball with simply over three minutes remaining within the Knicks’ 121-113 victory at Madison Sq. Backyard.
The harm left Tatum writhing in ache, and he was finally helped off of the court docket on the 2:58 mark of the fourth quarter with out placing any weight on his proper leg.
“It’s tough to watch a guy like him get carried off like that,” Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla stated.
Tatum was later seen within the Backyard tunnel in a wheelchair, along with his face buried in his palms.
“Tonight is tough,” teammate Jaylen Brown stated after the sport. “I think everybody’s at a loss for words.”
The harm introduced a sudden finish to a 42-point efficiency by Tatum, who shot 16-of-28 from the sector, together with 7-of-16 from 3-point vary.
The severity of the state of affairs rapidly turned evident as gamers from each groups watched in disbelief.
Knicks level guard Jalen Brunson started his postgame press convention by providing prayers for Tatum.
“I’ve been in a situation like that with my calf [before] so I just walked up, respectful of his space, and just prayed to my mother, prayed to God, to put protection over him, comfort,” stated Knicks middle Karl-Anthony Cities.
“Whatever he needs to go through, I hope it’s a quick, painless process. I’m hoping we can see him back here soon, with the superstar talent he is, playing at the highest level.”
A six-time All-Star in eight NBA seasons, Tatum helped lead the Celtics to his first NBA championship — and the franchise’s 18th — final 12 months.
Tatum averaged 26.8 factors, 8.7 rebounds and a career-high 6.0 assists per recreation through the 2024-25 common season.
He then led the Celtics with 28.1 factors, 11.5 rebounds, 5.4 assists, 2.1 steals and 40.3 minutes per recreation this postseason, regardless of struggling a wrist harm within the first spherical that compelled him to overlook Sport 2 towards the Orlando Magic.
Tatum’s absence creates a good larger problem for the Celtics, who fell behind 3-1 within the best-of-seven second-round collection with Monday’s loss.
Brown, their second-leading scorer, is averaging 21.9 factors per recreation, adopted by Derrick White’s 18.3.
“Obviously, we all felt for him in that moment,” Celtics middle Kristaps Porzingis stated. “But we just have to keep going. We have to keep playing, and obviously we all realize in our heads what this could mean.”
Initially Printed: Could 13, 2025 at 4:57 PM EDT
